


The Basket

by secretsofthesky



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Some Cuteness, Some angst, betty being an angel, jughead being saved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23734558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secretsofthesky/pseuds/secretsofthesky
Summary: Betty makes sure Jughead has a Thanksgiving meal.
Relationships: Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 9
Kudos: 60





	The Basket

There was a good chance her mother would lock her up and throw away the key if she knew where she was at the moment but to be honest, she didn’t really care. In fact, she couldn’t deny the bit of a thrill that coursed through her veins at the rebellion. She had spent the night prior and part of her morning baking under the guise of it being for a holiday bake sale and luckily, Alice had been so busy with preparing Thanksgiving dinner and making everything perfect for their guests that she had been too preoccupied to question where this bake sale was and why _she_ \- the woman who knew everything happening in the town at all times - had not heard anything about it.

Four dozen cookies and two perfect pies later, Betty had carefully packed them into plastic traveling dishes for safekeeping and placed them in the bottom of the large basket she had already filled with a disposable fall-themed table cloth, holiday napkins, and the note she had rewritten a half dozen times before deciding on a simple _Happy Thanksgiving, Jughead._

It had been a spur of the moment kind of plan, stemming from the terrible ache that had resided in her chest after hearing the boy - the boy she’d barely spoken to but whose eyes made her heart skip a beat every time they landed on her hers before he would shyly look away - tell Archie about his Thanksgiving plans. 

They had been at Pop’s the day before, and Betty had been sitting at the counter with Kevin sipping their shakes and going over plans for caroling when Archie and Jughead had walked in. They’d all exchanged quick hellos before the two boys had taken residence in a booth behind them and began to talk. 

She hadn’t been eavesdropping on purpose, but when Archie had rattled off his holiday plans of traveling out of town to celebrate with family before asking Jughead what he was doing, her heart had stopped as she waited for his reply.

“Oh you know,” the dark-haired boy had begun and she could hear the nervous jitter of his words. “Mom’s cooking and Dad will be watching football all day, just the usual.”

She had glanced over her shoulder then to find him and saw the dark circles beneath his eyes. Archie had just nodded and grabbed a menu though, not catching the weariness in his friends' face or the sadness that hunched his shoulders. But she had, just as she had heard the scared lie in his voice. 

Though maybe she wouldn’t have picked up on it either if she hadn’t heard her parents talking about it the night before. How Gladys Jones had left town with her daughter, and how FP Jones had lost it, landing himself in jail and looking at up to five years for the probation violation and chaos he had caused in response. They had discussed what they would report as well what would happen to Jughead since he was only fourteen and too young to be on his own in such a flippant way that it had anger coursing through her even as her heart filled with sadness for the boy that was left alone in the mess. 

That sadness was what had compelled her and why she found herself on a bus to the Southside with a basket on her lap filled with baked goods, turkey, and dishes full of warm Thanksgiving sides. While no one else seemed to care that the boy would be spending the holiday alone and hungry, _she_ did, and she was going to make sure that he would at least be going to bed with a full stomach that night. 

When the bus pulled up to a run-down, trash covered stop, she slowly stepped off and switched the heavy basket to her other arm and made her way towards the trailer park. The cold and the light snow that had begun to fall that morning had everyone inside and for that she was thankful. It would be hard to explain what she had been doing there instead of across town dropping off donations to the food bank like she’d told her mother if someone saw her and word got back to Alice. 

It only took a few minutes to find the Jones’ trailer, and after a few deep breaths to draw in courage, she ascended the steps and placed the basket in front of the door and knocked once before quickly jogging away to hide behind the trailer next door and wait. 

She didn’t breathe as she watched the door open, or as the beanie clad boy stepped out, holding a styrofoam cup of noodles in his hand as he stared down at the basket. She watched as he looked around the park warily, trying to find who had just knocked, before turning to set his cup down and squatting to the basket. She hated the way he hesitantly opened it, clearly afraid it may be some kind of joke, but when his eyes widened, his face falling in shock at its contents, she was finally able to drag in the cool air. His eyebrows narrowed as he read the small note she’d left, his lips forming a “who?” as he stood and looked around again before his head bowed, his hands sliding down his face, his expression on the verge of tears as a small smile formed on his lips before he lifted the basket, carrying it into the trailer. 

Betty smiled, tugging her scarf tighter around her neck as the snow started to fall harder. 

“Happy Thanksgiving, Juggie.” she whispered before heading back to the bus stop, a smile on her face that wasn’t sure to fade anytime soon. 

* * *

_Twelve Years Later_

* * *

Jughead stepped into the kitchen and accepted the beer Archie handed to him although he had no intention of drinking it. He had made a promise to himself when he was young and bore witness to his old man attempting to drown himself in a bottle every night that he would never let a drop touch his lips and at twenty-six, he’d kept it and didn’t plan on breaking it anytime soon. 

“How’s the guest room? Anything you need?” Veronica asked from over by the stove, glancing over her shoulder to meet his eye as she stirred a pot of sauce. 

Jughead shook his head. “Everything’s great. Thank you both for letting me crash here until my apartment’s ready.”

Archie took a swig of his own beer before grinning. “No problem at all. We’re family,” he said and Jughead’s heart swelled as his redheaded friend patted him on the back. “Just glad to have you back home. _Finally_. It’s been too long.” 

Jughead nodded in agreement as he glanced around the luxurious apartment Archie now shared with his fiance. When the two began discussing plans for their Christmas dinner the following week, he quietly walked over to the balcony doors at the far side of the kitchen and looked out over the lit-up town of Riverdale. 

_Home._

It had been twelve years since a social worker and two police officers had appeared on his doorstep the week after Thanksgiving to inform him that because they could not find his mother and his father would be residing in an eight by eight-foot cell for the next thirty-six months, that he would need to come with them. He hadn’t even been given time to say goodbye to anyone before he was shipped four counties over to a group home. Fred Andrews had tracked him down a few days later and subsequently tried to get custody of him, but the courts wouldn’t allow it. A week didn’t go by though without Fred making the trek to bring Archie to visit, and the weekly visits turned to weekly letters when he turned eighteen and joined the military. Now, eight years later and medically retired, somehow his heart had brought him back to the town that was indeed once his home. 

“There’s still about an hour until dinner’s done but if you guys are hungry now, there are cookies on the table.”

Jughead didn’t have to be told twice and quickly made his way to the fancy platter filled with cookies but stopped when he glanced down at them, his heart stilling for a moment before it began to pound wildly. 

He reached out, hesitantly taking one in his hand before bringing it to his mouth for a bite.

Instantly, memories flooded him. 

A cold Thanksgiving with no heat, eating expired noodles alone in his trailer. A knock on the door and a basket with a note, filled with enough food to feed a family of four. Leftovers that provided him lunch and dinner for the following three days where he would have otherwise gone hungry. And cookies that tasted like heaven, that spread warmth and comfort over him with every bite.

“Did you make these?” 

His voice was loud, abrupt, and had the blissfully happy couple turning to him surprised. 

“What?”

He swallowed, clearing his throat before speaking again, this time more calmly. “These cookies, did you make them?”

Veronica chuckled, shaking her head. “God no. Cooking, I can do, especially if it’s pasta. Baking is _definitely_ not my forte. Archiekins can tell you horror sto-”

“Where did you get them?” He knew it was rude to cut her off, but at the moment he didn’t care.

Veronica quirked an eyebrow but thankfully looked more amused than angry at his interruption. “The bakery in town.”

Jughead shook his head. A bakery left the basket? He didn’t remember any bakeries from back then. Had it been Pop? “What bakery?”

“It just opened a few years back,” Archie told him, grabbing a cookie for himself. “You remember Betty, right? Betty Cooper? She owns it.” 

His heart stilled then as a blonde ponytail and pretty green eyes flashed in his mind. _Remember_ her? The memory of her shy smiles and kind eyes were the only thing that kept him sane during rough times in the group home and one of his biggest regrets had been not acting on the crush he had on her since he first laid eyes on her in Pop’s. 

His mind began to race. How had he never put it together that it was she who left the basket? He’d witnessed her go out of her way to help those around her at every opportunity, of course bringing him a basket would have been something she would do. Especially if she had heard from her parents about the downfall of his family. The puzzle pieces started to fit together and he barely heard Archie’s questioning voice as he grabbed his jacket and began to head towards the door. 

“Is everything okay, Jug?”

He pulled his worn beanie into his head as he turned, one hand on the door handle as he met Archie and Veronica’s bewildered faces. “I might miss dinner - I’m sorry.”

Veronica chuckled, reaching down to run a hand over her very pregnant stomach. “No problem, there’s always tomorrow,” she said before he was smiling in thanks and walking out. Though not before he heard a laugh followed by “I know you said he loved food but that was quite a dramatic reaction to those cookies.”

A quick search on Google had him nearly sprinting towards the center of town as snow began to fall on his shoulders and it only took a few moments before his eyes landed on the small corner shop with the windows covered in lights and Christmas decor. 

Christmas music quietly played from the speakers near the door as he took a breath and stepped in, the bell on the door dinging as his nostrils were instantly assaulted by the sweet smell of sugar and fresh bread. 

“I’m so sorry but we’re about to close-” a voice that sounded so familiar even though he hadn’t heard it in years washed over him as Betty stepped out from the back, wiping her hands on her apron. 

He couldn’t look away - wouldn’t look away - greedily taking in her appearance and realizing she was more beautiful than he had ever remembered - even with her ponytail askew from a long day of work and a smear of white frosting spread over her cheek. 

“Jughead?”

Her voice sounded so surprised and he watched as her eyes widened, taking him in, looking as if she couldn’t quite believe he was standing there before her. 

He almost didn’t believe it either. 

“Hi, Betty.” His voice was hoarse, and he cleared it gently before continuing. “I was - I’m staying at Archie’s…”

He trailed off, not sure what to say, or how to say it. How could he put into words how thankful he was for what she had done? How could he explain that that act of kindness was a shining light in his memory compared to the bleak darkness that consumed most of his memories of Sunnyside? That the food had filled more than just his stomach, but an empty hole in his heart where he felt as if no one cared? How did he tell her that the cookies, that were so much more than just food, had stayed with him all these years to where he instantly knew the taste of them minutes before at Archie’s?

“How are you?” he found himself asking instead, and he wondered if by the way she rubbed her hands together nervously if her pulse was as frantic as his was.

“I’m - I’m good,” she responded hesitantly as if still not believing he was standing there in her shop. “How are you? It’s been so long.”

He grinned then, surprising them both. “Honestly, I’ve never been better than I am right now.” 

Her own surprised smile lifted her lips before her teeth caught her bottom one to tug at it nervously. “It’s nice to see you, Jug. And I’m really happy to hear that. I am closing but if there’s anything I can do-”

“Want to go to dinner?”

His question may have surprised him more than it had her, but his stomach flipped when her eyes lit up. 

“Dinner?”

“If you didn’t have plans -” he rattled nervously, sticking his hands deep in his pockets only to pull them back out again. “I thought I would pay you back.”

Betty’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she brought a hand up to tuck a hair behind her ear. “Pay me back for what?”

Jughead stepped forward, shrugging his shoulders, his eyes not leaving hers. “It’s been a while, but I believe I owe you a dinner.”

The realization hit then that he knew and her lips parted slightly as she watched him, her cheeks tinging red as she glanced away, only to find his eyes again a moment later. “Jug… I didn’t - It was just - you don’t have to-”

“I would really love it if you would have dinner with me, Betty Cooper.” 

He wondered if she could hear the beating of his heart in the quiet shop as the seconds felt like minutes before a grin lit her face. 

“Jughead Jones, it would be my pleasure.”

And that’s how they found themselves walking down the sidewalk towards Pops a few minutes later, the snow falling lightly on their shoulders as they spoke, both somehow knowing that walk would be the first of many in a long life of walking side by side. 


End file.
